Chapter 1461: Escape
Upon hearing Han Li's cold words, Lei Lan and the others could naturally see that Han Li wasn't kidding. As such, they didn't dare to delay as they hurried over to the Infernal Flame Fruit trees, pulling out wooden boxes within which they could store the fruits.
Qin Xiao even took an extra fruit and handed the wooden box to Han Li with both hands.
Han Li accepted the box without any hesitation, sweeping a sleeve through the air, and the box disappeared amid a flash of azure light.
At this moment, Lei Lan and Bai Bi had also collected their Infernal Flame Fruits and gathered nearby.
"Let's go! Don't pause or delay for anything; we have to get back to the surface as quickly as possible," Han Li said in a grave voice before flying away as a streak of azure light without providing any additional explanations.
Bai Bi and the others didn't know why he was suddenly in such a hurry to leave the earth abyss, but they could guess that this most likely had something to to with the blood wyrm. Even the unfathomably powerful Han Li was in such an urgent state; the other three were feeling even more uneasy.
Thus, Lei Lan and the others immediately set off in close pursuit.
The four of them disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Two days later, the giant golden flower still stood within that wooden hall on the third level of the earth abyss. The black shadow woman down below was stroking her chin, seemingly in deep thought.
At this moment, there was no one else in the hall aside from a pair of green-robed female servants.
All of a sudden, a streak of crimson light shot forth from outside the doors, following which the crimson light faded to reveal a crimson demon beast half-knelt within the hall.
It was none other than the blood wyrm that had just faced Han Li in battle!
"I pay my respects to my mistress!" the blood wyrm said in a respectful manner.
The woman turned an indifferent gaze toward the blood wyrm, and asked, "How did it go? Were you able to kill those people and take their souls?"
"My Mistress, I was too useless and was unable to kill those people," Xue Du replied as it lowered its wyrm head even further.
"Oh? So that means those people really are quite out of the ordinary." Not only was the woman not enraged, she was quite intrigued.
"Yes, My Mistress. The others were quite ordinary in that they were only normal Spirit Generals, but one of them was able to take the full power of my Heavenly Blood Lightning head-on as a mere late-Spirit General as well as an attack from my Blood River Infernal Spike with his physical body alone, yet remain completely unscathed. You told me to return immediately if I encountered any mishaps, so I returned after may failed attacks," Xue Du recounted.
"He was able to withstand your Heavenly Blood Lightning and Blood River Infernal Spike?" The black shadow was already aware that she would be hearing some interesting news, but Xue Du's words still came as a surprise to her.
The blood wyrm paused momentarily before replying, "That's right, not only that, but that man's movement techniques and other abilities are also quite extraordinary. Even if I were to engage in battle with him and fight with all my power, I would still most likely have been defeated."
"There are countless abilities in this world, so it's not too much of a surprise that he was able to withstand your Heavenly Blood Lightning. However, being able to repel your Blood River Infernal Spike with just his physical body alone as a late-Spirit General really does suggest that he's quite an extraordinary being. It means that his physical body is extremely powerful, and he would be the ideal blood sacrifice. Very good, we should have prepared three premium blood sacrifices, yet I've only found one, and I was just fretting over this matter." A hint of elation had crept into the woman's voice.
"What do we do next, Mistress?"
"I'll go in person and capture that man alive, then use him to conduct the final sacrificial ceremony." The woman's voice suddenly turned quite sinister.
"But Mistress, isn't Master Di Xue after this man?" the blood wyrm reminded.
"Due Xue clearly wants to kill these Flying Spirit beings for their Yin souls and use them for some kind of exchange. I only want this man's physical body, so there's no conflict of interest here. Why should I be concerned?" the woman said in a cold voice, and her guess was spot-on.
"Your wisdom is unmatched, Mistress!" The blood wyrm was enlightened by her words.
"We shouldn't delay any further. Di Xue, teleport to the second level with me, and let's hunt this man down together," the woman instructed.
"Yes, Mistress!" The blood wyrm immediately rose to his feet.
The black shadow on the giant golden flower flashed, the woman appeared beside the blood wyrm in a wraith-like manner.
She made a hand seal and began to chant something, upon which inky-black light poured forth from her body, sweeping up the two of them in the blink of an eye. Following a quick flash, the two of them disappeared amid the black light.
On the other end, Han Li and the others were flying with all their might, covering a distance that would've taken several days otherwise in just a single day. However, they were still racing along.
Thankfully, all of the dangerous demon beasts along the way had already been exterminated by them, and they were quite familiar with this route, having traveled it once already, so there was no need for them to stop for anything.
Even so, Bai Bi, Qin Xiao, and Lei Lan had expended a lot of spiritual power during such high-intensity flight, and they were struggling to maintain this pace. However, they didn't dare to complain in the slightest as the sight of the grim expression on Han Li's face, so they could only grit their teeth and continue onward.
A day later, a swamp appeared up ahead, and the second level exit was revealed to them.
Han Li heaved a faint sigh of relief upon seeing this before immediately leading the group into the exit without any hesitation.
Half a day later, Han Li and the others reappeared in the valley on the first level of the earth abyss.
At this moment, Han Li suddenly made a decision that had the others completely dumbstruck.
As soon as they exited the valley, Han Li suddenly said in a cold voice, "We'll split up from now on. Separate yourselves from me, and we'll fly back the surface as quickly as we can along different routes."
"What? Why, Brother Han?" Bai Bi and the others were all stunned to hear this.
"With the situation as it currently is, I won't keep you three in the dark any longer. We may have caught the interest of a Demon Monarch level existence in this earth abyss. Even with my abilities, there's no way I can oppose such a fearsome being. I don't when they'll be able to catch up to us, but if we split up, there's a very good chance that they'll come after me, which means there will be a greater chance for you three to escape to the surface. On top of that, without having to take the three of you with me, I'll be able to flee without any inhibitions. There should be very few things on this first level that can pose a threat to you, so you should be safe here," Han Li explained.
"How could a Demon Monarch level being have developed an interest in us? Are you sure you haven't misjudged the situation, Brother Han?" Qin Xiao immediately turned deathly pale.
"I don't know the reason behind this, but that's all I have to say. Your lives belong to you, and you can choose whether you believe me or not. However, I suggest that it's best for us to split up. Perhaps our pursuers will catch up to us soon," Han Li said in a brisk tone.
Lei Lan and the others glanced at one another upon hearing this.
It was just as Han Li had said; their lives belonged to them. Regardless of whether Han Li had misjudged or not, they could only regard this to be true. Furthermore, Han Li's judgment had been faultless throughout their journey, so there was a good chance that he was correct on this occasion as well.
As such, Lei Lan and the others could only follow his advice and fly toward another direction after Han Li flew off and left them behind.
As long as they could return to the surface, they would most likely be safe.
A streak of azure light sped through a set of barren plains in a frenzy, moving as fast as lightning. It traveled from one end of the sky to the other after just a few flashes, and it was racing along in a completely soundless manner.
Many demon beasts and demonic insects down below had noticed the streak of azure light in the sky, but they were nowhere near fast enough to catch up to it, so they could only look on as it disappeared into the distance.
Han Li was flying as quickly as he could while holding a pair of top-grade spirit stones to replenish his energy.
Back when he was traveling to the Spirit Realm through the spatial node, he had used up all of his Myriad Year Spirit Milk. As such, he had no choice but to use top-grade spirit stones instead. They were indeed extremely valuable, but in this dire situation, he certainly couldn't be stingy with them.
Han Li's decision to split up with the other three was a forced one. He had told Lei Lan and the others most of the truth, but he had hidden one thing from them; he had a feeling that those demons from earlier seemed to be targeting him, and didn't pay much heed to Lei Lan and the others.
In this situation, splitting up with them would make the rest of their journey to the surface a lot safer.
He had protected the two Tian Peng Race holy disciples throughout this trial, helped them secure Infernal Flame Fruits, and also led them safely back to the first level. He had done everything in his power, so the rest was up to those holy disciples themselves. He had to worry about his own safety now.
Up to this point, he hadn't noticed anything amiss nearby, and he wasn't too far away from the entrance that led up the surface, but Han Li didn't dare to get complacent, even in the slightest.
Not only did he not slow down, he instead expelled a mouthful of blood essence and unleashed a secret technique to accelerate even further.
If he could expend some energy to avoid a Body Integration Stage Demon Monarch, then that would most definitely be a wise decision.
However, after flying for over half a day, Han Li's expression suddenly changed drastically as he abruptly turned around to look behind him.
A streak of black light had appeared in the distant sky, and it was speeding straight toward him.
Furthermore, it seemed to be closing in rapidly.
A dark expression appeared on Han Li's face, and he immediately flapped his Thunderstorm Wings, appearing over 1,000 feet away in the blink of an eye.
He didn't have any means through which he could conceal himself, so he could only unleash the full power of this Thunderstorm Wings.
A faint cry of surprise sounded from within the black light, and Han Li felt as if it had been uttered right beside him.
His heart sank as he flapped his wings vigorously, launching himself through the air at an astonishing pace, as if he were trying to puncture space itself.